Tuesday, December 27, 2005

New show with a new title


I heard an interesting bit of scuttlebutt yesterday that Dickie Garden had entered into an agreement with Clyde Beatty's son to use the Beatty title on Mr. Garden's 2006 circus.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some people will do anything if the price is right. This shows disrespect to Clyde Beatty.

Anonymous said...

Eric writes:

Last year when we were up in Santa Barbara, CA., we saw advertisements for Clyde Beatty surfboards. We assumed that Clyde's son had become a surfer dude and later brought out his own line of surfboards. The company logo is a tiger's head. (I wonder what PETA has to say about that!)

Anonymous said...

Clyde Beatty Jr has been shaping top end boards for many years. The company does a clothing line as well. C.B. Jr's reputation in the surfing world may be as legendary as his father's was in the circus world -- though few surfers become household names.

Strictly in terms of "branding" in the market place I thought that Cole Bros made a mistake in dropping the Beatty title altogether because that put it into play; and if it ended up on another show Cole Bros reputation could be impacted.

Anonymous said...

All the SHARKS are not in the water!

Anonymous said...

C.B. Jr

http://www.beattyproducts.com

http://www.theshaperstree.com/tales/clyde_beatty.asp

Anonymous said...

Questions for circus businessmen and women:

With respect to one of the greatest circus performers of all time, how many people under the age of 40 know who Clyde Beatty is?

I watched Pat Anthony near the end of his career (around 1980)still trying to do a "fighting" cat act and it wasn't going over with the audience in St. Louis. Is there an audience that would be attracted by a "fighting" act?

I was a friend of Pat's and appreciated his training and presentation. I only saw Mr. Beatty a few times but respect the high esteem he is held in by fellow performers. I just wonder if using the Beatty name in this era is a good idea?

Anonymous said...

I think the Beatty name in and of itself still has some play with an audience over the age of 50. The real value as a "brand" has almost nothing to do with Beatty the performer, anymore than "Ringling" as a brand has anything to do with the original Bros. The Beatty name has been on circuses with only a few interruptions for decades. A casual circus goer therefore can assume it's a well known show. Longevity implies respectability.

Anonymous said...

All the more reason the name should not be for sale. Respectability is not bought and sold. It is earned the old fashion way. Let the new comers earn that for themselves like the rest of us did.

Pat Cashin said...

If the Beatty name has been bought couldn't any one of a number of the Cole names be purchased and added to it?

Jose Cole? Famous Cole? There are a couple out there.

Anonymous said...

Trying to tack a Cole title on to Beatty would probably result in a Restraining Order faster than the paint on the trucks could dry. Not worth the price, particularly if the producer is in the habit of changing titles with some regularity.

Everything old is new again. It's funny how these same kind of title issues -- and the respectability that come with a "clean one" -- have played themselves out for well over a hundred years.

Dancing around the edges of this particular discussion, what we would seem to be talking about is attaching a great name to a show that might be a contemporary version of a fireball outfit. In this oh so modern age nobody has to carry heat or engage in old-fashioned grift, it's enough to lay down plenty of free kiddie tickets, then charge $25 at the box office for adults, $5 for cotton candy, burn the sponsor, if you have one, piss off the leasing company if you play lot and license -- and put on a bad show besides. Even today you can get away with much if you put on a good performance; but adding insult to injury just burns the town. I suppose the argument here is that if Dickie Garden or anybody else takes out a Clyde Beatty show and routes it through the northeast where the name has the most play, it would be nice if the show is at least entertaining, and not a collection of moonbounces, or a "three ring" affair with one ring filled with inflatible toys.

Buckles said...

My favorite circus title was:
"Burnum, Daily & Howe".

Anonymous said...

No disrespect is shown in keeping a name alive, as we see in names surviving since our great-grandfather's times. Respectability is proven when someone still wants your name, as we know of certain names not wanted, and others allowed to perish. In this case, and I know what I'm talking about here, this name was not sold, but leased for a specific period.

We've heard what PETA has to say. Their shrill rantings ring hollow now. With extremists, observe tight, listen loose.

Anonymous said...

In point of fact, Clyde Beatty, Jr. is highly respected by surfboard shapers and glassers for innovative design advances that have brought him resounding success, extensive industry print coverage, and a cover photo on Wet Sand Magazine. He has been on the contest circuit for many years now, and to note just one award, he took First in the Grand Masters at the Rincon Surf Contest.

Perhaps Evelyn can help us here. Research indicates that Harriett (Iwicki) Evans had Albina from a relationship in the time she toured vaudeville with a dance troupe. In the April 7, 1951, issue of COLLIER'S, a respected and well-edited magazine, we have the article "Lions 'n' Tigers 'n' CLYDE BEATTY", written by Collie Small. Under the color photo of Albina perched on an elephant's head is the caption designating "stepdaughter Albina Beatty". Small's editors would demand that he make certain a family designation would not be mis-stated. Research also has not produced a record of formal adoption.